Ecological Studies of the South Atlantic Deep Sea to Inform Sustainable Management

I completed my PhD, titled ‘Ecological Studies of the South Atlantic Deep Sea to Inform Sustainable Management’, at the University of Plymouth in the UK. This was in collaboration with the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research (IMR).

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My research focused on describing patterns in the ecology of seamounts in the South Atlantic, linking these with environmental parameters, and incorporating this baseline information into products that support science-based decision making regarding management regimes. While the research covered the broader ocean basin, much of the data I worked with came from the UK Overseas Territory of St Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha. 

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Key methodologies I employed included:

• Uni- and multivariate statistical analysis of ecological data (e.g. generalised additive models, general linear mixed effects models, distance-based linear models, permanova)

• Habitat suitability modelling (HSM)

• Broad-scale, non-hierarchical habitat classification